“Through Faith” by Robert Smith

“Through Faith” was released a few months ago, and I have recommended it to family and friends, in person and online, but I’ve put off saying anything about it here on my blog because, every time I attempt to write something, my mind and my heart are so flooded with thoughts and feelings that it is difficult to find a starting point from which to organize them all. I will offer my apologies in advance for not even mentioning the book in the next several paragraphs. Stay with me, people. I’ll tie everything together at the end. I promise.

For as long as I can remember, I have known that God loves us—that this life has purpose and meaning, even when (and perhaps especially when) we are tempted to think otherwise. I’ve never not known it. I have always known that God is engaged in a marvelous work to help any and all who would come to him. Though I am admittedly slow at picking up on the finer details of that work, it has ever been a consuming desire of mine to be engaged in that work with him to the best of my understanding at any given point of my life. Thoughts of how to best do that race across my mind constantly. They have been the basis for every past decision in my life and every hope that I have for the future.

I think that this is why I love the Psalms so much. I’ve posted a few Psalms as blogposts in the past. I do that when I feel like the writer may as well have gazed into my soul and put on paper everything that I wish I could express as well. This morning, I read Psalm 25, and it was so identical to my own feelings that I made it my previous post. I’m not going to quote it here, but if you haven’t read it lately, you should, if only for context.

The whole chapter is a gem! It is, mostly, a prayer for the individual. When I read it, my heart is drawn out in the same prayer for myself, and I feel how much it has been all my life. But today, it was the last verse—verse 22–that got to me. Verse 22 is a prayer that is offered for all of Israel, and in reading that verse, my heart burst this morning with all of the love that I have for Israel and Israel’s role in the fulfillment of God’s work. That, too, has been something that I have felt all my life. 

And before going any further, I need to make it clear that I have in my mind a particular group of people that I believe comprises “Israel.” It’s not a political state or a group of people who have been through temple ceremonies. It is a group set apart—made (or yet to be made) holy and sanctified and prepared in every way to bear testimony of our Lord and to engage in his work. That is the Israel I love and the Israel for whom I pray as I read verse 22.

When I think of those who belong to Israel, I feel a great joy in the belief that, somewhere, there are people who feel the same way I do when they read that verse and that they are just as anxious to involve themselves in the Lord’s work as I am.

So where are they?

Mostly, they are asleep.

14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. (Ephesians 5)

There are many scriptures that deal with the themes of sleep, awakening, and rising to accomplish the day’s work. Sometime, I’ll do another blogpost on that. For now, however, I’ll leave the scripture from Ephesians as an example and attempt to tie up all of my thoughts and how they relate to the book, “Through Faith.”

In editing and recording the audiobook, I have been blessed with the opportunity to read and re-read “Through Faith” several times over. I gain so much from this process. It would take me far too long to enumerate all of the things that I have learned, so I wish to mention here the thing that stood out to me the most:

“Through Faith” (as just one of its purposes) is meant to teach “Israel” how to correctly, and in greater measure, understand and apply the process of faith to their individual circumstances, which will result in their sanctification and the fulfillment of God’s purposes.

I can see the potential in what is written in “Through Faith.” God’s servants have been misunderstanding and misapplying faith for far too long. As they become aware of what has been written in “Through Faith” and apply its teachings, “Israel” will engage in God’s work more effectively and in greater numbers. Those who already belong to Israel, but are asleep, will read this book and recognize that their righteous desires also have a righteous means of fulfillment and that it is right before them if they will let the Spirit show them the way. They will take up the whole armor of God and use the Spirit as their guide to seek after those means, as their desire for certain outcomes has been inside of them all along. Those who have always had a desire for improvement will be led to improvement that is the most lasting, the most eternal in nature, and the most satisfying to the soul.

One of my favorite quotes from the book:

Faith is the process by which potential is transformed into existence. It is the means by which the information present in the spirit is discovered and instantiated into physical reality. It is the means by which the image of God is extracted and applied to the world to yield something in greater fidelity to the creator. (p. 8)

Who can read that and not see what lies ahead for those who have faith in God? Faith is what yields everything that is good—everything that is a manifestation of God. “Through Faith” outlines the process by which those who share the same sentiment as David in writing Psalm 25 will eventually encounter the fulfillment of all of God’s promised blessings.

Print copy can be purchased here.

Free ebook can be found here.

Free audiobook can be found here.

The audio recording can also be found in a YouTube playlist here.

Psalm 25

1 Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

3 Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.

4 Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.

5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

6 Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord.

8 Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.

9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.

10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

11 For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.

12 What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.

13 His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.

14 The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.

15 Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.

16 Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.

17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.

18 Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and forgive all my sins.

19 Consider mine enemies; for they are many; and they hate me with cruel hatred.

20 O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.

21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I wait on thee.

22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

Some Thoughts on Isaac

1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. (Genesis 22)

This story has popped into my head a lot the past few days. I’ve spent many hours pondering it.

People talk about the “Abrahamic sacrifice” and how we, in order to enjoy the blessings of Abraham, are required to make a similar sacrifice. And, in the past, I have spent plenty of time contemplating what it might have been like for Abraham to have been asked to sacrifice his son. Less so what it might have been like for Isaac, though I have thought about the obvious similarities between Isaac and Christ.

Because we speak of an “Abrahamic sacrifice,” it is natural for us to project ourselves into the role of Abraham—the person making the sacrifice. But Abraham’s role is, obviously, one of “father.” Isaac’s role is, obviously, that of a “son.” And we know that you don’t become a father without first being a son, so I have been thinking about this story from Isaac’s perspective, comparing it to my own recent life experiences, and gaining much understanding in the process.

I don’t wish to diminish the benefit of imagining ourselves as Abraham—binding up something we love and sacrificing it in obedience and submission to God. We are to love God above all else, and there is a lot we can learn from Abraham’s devoted and obedient example. However, I have realized that there is much to be gained in pondering what Isaac’s experience might have been like.

Scripture does not reveal how old Isaac was when this story takes place. Regardless of his age, it is obvious that he (1) has complete trust in his father and (2) doesn’t reach an early conclusion that he is to be his father’s sacrifice.

How unknowing and innocent Isaac was in his travels to Moriah! Leading up to this experience, he doesn’t imagine that Abraham has it in his heart to sacrifice him. It was probably near impossible for Isaac to imagine Abraham contemplating anything that might potentially harm him. Knowing how long Abraham desired a son—a righteous son—through Sarah, one can expect that he was nothing but a loving, righteous father. Abraham’s quick and exact obedience to God’s command serves only to communicate to us how much he loved God more than he loved Isaac. Isaac undoubtedly loved and obviously trusted him in return. He had no reason to disbelieve Abraham when he said, “God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering” and never suspects that it was him who had already been provided.

The scripture jumps from Abraham telling Isaac that God would provide a lamb to Abraham’s dutiful chores leading up to the expected sacrifice. We don’t know what, if anything else, was said between the two. Perhaps it was possible for Abraham to communicate his intention to Isaac with a simple expression. Or, perhaps, a gesture. Or, perhaps, just his silence.

One wonders (or doesn’t) what it must have been like for Isaac to finally realize that he was to be the lamb. What do you think Isaac might have thought as the reality of the situation dawned on him? How do you think he felt? Betrayed? Confused? Incredulous? Unloved? I suspect that he might have been tempted to feel all of these things, but I also suspect that he had felt enough love from his father before this experience to not entertain those feelings for very long. We aren’t told how much time passed between Isaac’s realization that he was to be the sacrifice and the actual sacrifice itself. Moments? Minutes? Hours, perhaps? Perhaps it didn’t take long and he helped his father ready what was needed, or perhaps he needed just a moment to contemplate what was about to take place. At some point, however, I am sure that Isaac made a conscious decision to resolve and to commit himself to being sacrificed—to let all of the unknowns be put away from his mind and to have only a steadfast trust in his father remain.

This has been, is, and ever will be the experience of a righteous “son” (or daughter, for that matter): to consent to be led by your Father to (and through) any and all experiences, sparing nothing—not even your own life.

Wholly Inadequate

While our Country remains untainted with the Principles and manners, which are now producing desolation in so many Parts of the World: while she continues Sincere and incapable of insidious and impious Policy: We shall have the Strongest Reason to rejoice in the local destination assigned Us by Providence. But should the People of America, once become capable of that deep simulation towards one another and towards foreign nations, which assumes the Language of Justice and moderation while it is practicing Iniquity and Extravagance; and displays in the most captivating manner the charming Pictures of Candour frankness & sincerity while it is rioting in rapine and Insolence: this Country will be the most miserable Habitation in the World. Because We have no Government armed with Power capable of contending with human Passions unbridled by morality and Religion. Avarice, Ambition Revenge or Galantry, would break the strongest Cords of our Constitution as a Whale goes through a Net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. —John Adams

I have this fascination with government. I’m not sure why. And it’s any level of government—from self-government to national government to world government. You will find government in an any organized body of people—businesses, churches, classrooms, playgroups. For that matter, the group of people doesn’t even have to be organized. Anarchy shifts the boundaries of government from groups to individuals, but it is still a form of government.

Order and structure are things that appeal to me. I like things that are sensical and optimized. One thing about bringing order and structure to anything, however, is that you need to start organizing at the most basic unit of whatever whole it is to which you wish to bring order.

You may have heard the last two lines of the quote from John Adams before (they are quoted most often), but I find the entire paragraph packed with truth. Mr. Adams knew that the government of the united States was designed in such a way that the greatness of the whole would never—could never—exceed the greatness of the individual states of which it was constituted. And each state was given the liberty to establish governments that reflected the will of the people who lived there. If any state’s governments did not reflect the ideas and character of the people, the people had the option of throwing off that government by either reforming the government of the state they were in or moving to another state. But, either way, in order to create the environment in which a person could enjoy the greatest happiness, the government needed to be a reflection of good moral character within the individual. It isn’t possible for any individual to understand, much less bring about, good results in government (or any other area of their life) that are beyond the level of goodness that they incorporate into themselves.

Can any of us honestly believe that we are a “moral and religious people?” Read the quote from Mr. Adams again and count how many mental somersaults you have to do before you answer that question in the affirmative. You won’t have to do any to answer no. We are not a “moral and religious people”—not like we would like to think we are. Christians who are, or would be, political activists should mind this for two reasons—one that is obvious now and one that will become increasingly obvious in the future.

First, trying to get people to involved in the political process is going to be completely ineffectual in restoring a moral backbone to government until you first address the lack of morals in people. Some people realize this. Many do not, but they will.

13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7)

There is a reason why the Lord’s requirements are what they are: He cannot heal the land in absence of the repentance of the people. You can try to make changes to political parties, encourage political involvement, organize protests, and even legislate yourself into an oblivion, but you will not take the dents out of what is a complete and utter train wreck until you invoke the Lord’s blessing by first doing exactly what he says in the above scripture.

Second, as this country goes through its death throes, Christians will realize more and more that their definition of repentance does not match the Lord’s definition of repentance. An accurate understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ was lost through history, and Christians, in particular, sit in a greater darkness than they realize. In large measure, any “invocation” by them will fall on deaf ears because it is not what the Lord actually requires. Though they will plead for his intervention, it will not come until they understand what the gospel of Jesus Christ actually entails, accept it for what it is, and live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God as a result.

The needed application of what Mr. Adams wrote to our current situation should be a signal of our own moral deficiency—especially to those who might entertain the idea of somehow being the salt of the earth. As it is, Christians have an incorrect understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I highly recommend this book to anyone who recognizes that we are lacking the same aid, comfort, assistance, healing, and deliverance from God that he so mercifully promises in scripture.

Cult Mentality

Growing up in the LDS church, I came into contact with many people who thought that I was part of a cult. And they didn’t mean the white-washed definition of “religion.” They meant to use the derogatory definition—with all of its allusions to brain-washing, blind obedience, and lack of critical thinking.

When I was younger, I felt it much easier to deflect any such accusation, in part, because the church taught (or, at least, I was taught) that we were to live by the Spirit. In recent years, I have seen that teaching slowly go down the drain, only to be, sadly, replaced with the idea that we should live according to the latest press release from the First Presidency.

People I know are going to reject that notion, but, more and more, there is mounting evidence in favor of my position.

Several people I know who had, at first, decided that injecting themselves with an experimental concoction of who-knows-what might be a bad idea have now decided that it couldn’t possibly be a bad thing. Want to know what made them change their minds?

“The prophet said so.”

Their words, not mine.

This is the fullest expression of cult mentality. Anyone who does this doesn’t have much to consider in determining whether or not they would have been drinking Kool-aid with Jim Jones in the late 70s, though they will refute that with every excuse to preserve their perception of their own sanity.

Those who put such absolute trust in the leaders of the LDS church fail to recognize what the Lord has clearly laid out in scripture—Hosea 7, for example. Let those who take pride in the fact that they are of Ephraim follow its implications to their ends:

1 When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without.

2 And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face.

3 They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.

4 They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.

5 In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.

6 For they have made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.

7 They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth unto me.

8 Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

9 Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.

10 And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for all this.

11 Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

12 When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.

13 Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.

14 And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me.

15 Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me.

16 They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt. (Hosea 7)

“Glorify Your Father Which Is In Heaven”

Matthew 5:16 is a famous, often-quoted, scripture. I’m pretty sure I heard someone quote it before I read it, and because of that, I had an ill-conceived idea about its meaning. 

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5)

What does it mean to “glorify,” and who does the “glorifying” in this verse?

Hearing this verse as a child, I picked up on the idea that “to glorify” meant “to praise” (which it does, though it is almost universally understood pretty superficially), but I failed to correctly determine who “glorifies” the Father in this verse. Somehow I got it my head that, if you “let your light so shine before men,” they (the men) would see your good works and they (the men) would glorify (or praise) the Father. 

And, perhaps, there is something to be gained from that understanding, but it wasn’t until I did a deep dive into the definition of “glorify” that this scripture took on new meaning for me—one that led to better and greater fruits in my life.

1. To praise; to magnify and honor in worship; to ascribe honor to, in thought or words.

2. To make glorious; to exalt to glory, or to celestial happiness.

3. To praise; to honor; to extol.

4. To procure honor or praise to.

Many times, looking up the definitions of the definitions can be beneficial, too. I found the definition for “magnify” to be extremely helpful.

1. To make great or greater; to increase the apparent dimensions of a body. 

2. To make great in representation; to extol; to exalt in description or praise.

3. To extol; to exalt; to elevate; to raise in estimation.

Defining these words (and noticing the commas) helped me understand that there are two separate, but related, charges in this verse. Jesus is charging his disciples to “let [their] light...shine,” and he is also charging them to “glorify [their] Father...in heaven.” And one could make a case that it is only his true disciples that are able to actually fulfill these charges.

God is difficult for us to comprehend. The entirety of his love, knowledge, wisdom, mercy, and every other aspect of his character is so far above and beyond what we naturally possess that it is impossible to recognize the difference between the two without experiencing the pain that comes with that recognition.

In his mercy, God doles out smaller, but significant, portions of his character to us by way of the many things that surround us here in the physical world. The recognition of these smaller portions of his character are less painful for us to bear. While all things testify of him and give us reason to believe in his goodness and greatness, those who recognize, seek after, and incorporate measures of this goodness into themselves become an important means by which God is able to communicate more about himself to others who would not do the same. They “magnify” God. They increase the dimensions of portions of God’s character so that his character is tolerable for others to zoom in on, and bear, and learn from, without an insufferable amount of pain. They bring more easily comprehensible measures of his goodness into the less painful view of others in order to grant them an opportunity to incorporate that goodness into themselves. They convey God’s goodness in their representation of him. 

This emulation and conveyance of God’s character is the highest form of “praise” and “worship” in which anyone can engage. What most people call “praise” and “worship” is a sorry and shameful excuse for what the Lord intends our praise and worship to be. Our praise and worship is meant to be what sets us apart from the rest of the world. It is meant to be a hallmark of the Lord’s disciples.

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (John 14)

The atonement of Jesus Christ is what makes this emulation possible, and it is only those who submit themselves fully to him who are able to fully discover and then transmit God’s love and character to others. It is only those who believe in and assume the responsibility to increasingly become like God who can fulfill this charge from Jesus to “glorify” the Father. 

 

Psalm 40

In my morning study time, I’ll come across things that have been written and marvel at how they resonate with me. I’ll find it amazing (1) that someone seems to know my heart so well and (2) that someone can express what I feel so beautifully. Most often, it brings me to tears—not only because I am able to experience, once again, the love that the Lord has shown to me, but also because it is evidence that that love is available to all and testified of by many others.

1 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.

4 Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

5 Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,

8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

9 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.

10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.

11 Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.

12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help me.

14 Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.

15 Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.

16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified.

17 But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

The Doctrine of Christ—2 Nephi 32:8-9

As I share this last post on chapters 31 and 32 of 2 Nephi, I am filled with amazement and wonder at how the Lord works in the lives of those who seek after him. Everything is perfectly timed, perfectly designed, and perfectly executed to bring about our greatest happiness. Our greatest struggles are our greatest opportunities to lean on the Lord and ask him why we are going through them.

I started this blog because the Lord told me to. I was hesitant to share any of my thoughts with random and anonymous people on the internet, much less so with people I know. I am, at once, grateful that he told me to do it and embarrassed that I didn’t think to share these things with others sooner on my own.  And while I pray with every post that it will help someone—anyone—come to feel greater and greater measures of God’s love, I cannot imagine that happening to anyone more than it has happened to me. 

By the time Nephi reaches these two verses at the end of chapter 32, he has laid out, in plainness, the doctrine of Christ in chapter 31, clarified what some might misunderstand of that doctrine in the first six verses of chapter 32, and lamented—in verse seven—the fact that people (who have already “entered in by the way”) still won’t understand what he is trying to say.

Putting ourselves in Nephi’s shoes for a moment, and attempting to feel the desperation and hopelessness he might feel with the inadequacy of his written words to convince anyone of what it takes to have Christ “manifest himself unto [them] in the flesh,” we ought to pause and consider that, more often than not—almost always, in fact—people are just not going to “get it.” And, remember, Nephi isn’t talking to people who haven’t encountered the Book of Mormon or who have rejected it. He is talking to people who have “entered in by the way.” He’s talking to people who have had a remission of sins and who have started in the strait and narrow path. If we think that we are one of those people, we should be sober about whether or not we might also fall into this category of people that Nephi is so obviously concerned about. The odds are very good that we will.

To my mind, verses 8 and 9 of chapter 32 are Nephi’s last-ditch effort to try to help us advance along the strait and narrow path, even though he knows most us will not. 

8 And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.

What is “this thing” that Nephi is talking about? Many people read the last sentence of verse 8 and think that Nephi is defining what “this thing” is, but he isn’t. In that last sentence, Nephi is interrupting the flow of information to explain why he is “speak[ing] concerning this thing” and to lament that he even has to mention “this thing.” He is saying that “...if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray;” and he wouldn’t even have to mention “this thing.” But he does mention it in the next verse, which means that we don’t pray—not like we should, anyway. And so what spirit are we listening to?

“the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.”

Truth! No wonder Nephi laments.

So what is “this thing?” Continuing in verse 9:

9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.

Man, I love definitions! It’s interesting to me that “faint” can be read as either a verb or as an adverb in this verse—using it for contrast against either the verb “pray” or the adverb “always”—but both uses convey similar ideas. When used as an verb, “faint” means “to become feeble; to decline or fail in strength or vigor; to be weak.” It means “to sink into dejection” and “to lose courage or spirit.” It can also be read as an adverb—“weakly,” “feebly,” “languid,” “inclined to swoon,” “exhausted,” “cowardly,” “not vigorous,” “not active,” “dejected,” “depressed,” “dispirited.”

When I was much younger, I used to read these two verses and think, “Really? Nephi’s last admonition to us is just to pray?”

Which is, undoubtedly, a revelation to anyone about just how feeble and weak my prayers were. 

If you open your ears to listen, verse 9 is a reverberation of verses 14-16 of chapter 31:

14 But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had not known me.

15 And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.

16 And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.

Think the strait and narrow path is going to be easy and carefree? Nope. Think that you will never come to a point where you might “deny [him]?” Think again. We had better expect it to be hard. We had better expect it to bring us to the point where we, along with our prayers, are weak, feeble, exhausted, cowardly, and dispirited—where we might lack strength or vigor. And it won’t, necessarily, be because we slack in our efforts. If we are advancing along the path, it will be because what lies on the path ahead of us will require a strength in prayer that we have not previously attained.

Advancement along the path is a high stakes game. When the Son says to Nephi that, if we should deny him once we have entered in by the way, it would have been better to have not known him, he isn’t joking. It is only those who endure who are saved, and if you don’t endure, you cannot be saved. Returning to Nephi’s words in verse 9 of chapter 32, we find out exactly what is at stake: it is the welfare of our own soul.

The word “soul” evokes some deep meaning for me. It designates those parts of us that are central and eternal—everything that makes us who we are. Nephi’s last admonition to pray becomes priceless as we realize how difficult parts of the path are, how unavoidable and mandatory those parts of the path are, how much we stand to lose if we don’t traverse and endure those parts of the path, and how needful it is to draw upon the Lord for his strength, wisdom, courage, and love as we come to them.

The doctrine of Christ is strait and narrow. It is a path that requires exact obedience and total submission. It requires holding fast to the rod of iron (or God’s word) and only letting go to advance your grip—and, even then, Nephi’s counsel to us is that we not do anything at all until and unless we have prayed mightily to the Father in the name of Christ. It is only in doing “this thing” that we can be assured that everything we do will be consecrated by the Father “for the welfare of [our] soul.”